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User:JPRiley/Cooper

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JPRiley/Cooper
Born(1849-03-20)March 20, 1849
DiedJuly 12, 1934(1934-07-12) (aged 85)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationArchitect
The Mechanics Building in Pueblo, designed by Cooper and completed in 1891.
The Thomas M. Bowen house in Pueblo, built in 1892.
Taylor Hall of Western Colorado University, designed by Cooper & Robertson and completed in 1911.

Francis W. Cooper FAIA (March 20, 1849 – July 12, 1934) was an American architect in practice in Wyoming and Colorado from 1877 until his retirement in the 1920s.

Life and career

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Francis Woodworth Cooper was born March 20, 1849 in Spencer, New York. He was educated at Cornell University, graduating with a BArch in 1874. After working for architects in Ohio he moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1877 to open his own office. He was the first architect to locate in Wyoming. In 1881 he moved on to Pueblo, Colorado, where he established a partnership with Serena A. Todd, though he kept a second office in Cheyenne. Soon afterwards he won the commission to design the new Cheyenne Opera House, and late that year sent his assistant, J. S. Matthews, to superintend construction. In 1882 he formed a new partnership with Joseph Anderson, and completed the opera house. Matthews then left to open his own Cheyenne office, with the local office of Cooper & Anderson in charge of Anderson until the dissolution of the partnership in 1884. Cooper then practiced alone until circa 1909, when he formed a new partnership with Guy B. Robertson, which lasted four years. In 1921 he formed his fourth and final partnership with Leo A. Desjardins of Denver.[1] In 1922 they opened a second office in Denver, under the management of Desjardins. The partnership was dissolved in 1924, and Cooper continued to practice independently until his retirement later in the decade.

In 1909 the Colorado legislature passed a law requiring licensure of architects, and established the Colorado State Board of Examiners of Architects to set the standards for licensure. Cooper was appointed to the inaugural board, and served four four-year terms.

In 1888 Cooper joined the Western Association of Architects. When this was merged with the American Institute of Architects in 1889, Cooper became a Fellow of that organization. Since 1898 the title of Fellow has been the highest membership honor of the AIA.

Personal life

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In 1885 Cooper was married to Lillian Jordan of Pueblo. They had two children.[2] Cooper died July 12, 1934.[3]

Legacy

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At least four buildings designed by Cooper have been listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places.

Architectural works

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Notes

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  1. ^ Demolished.
  2. ^ a b c d NRHP-listed.
  3. ^ Cooper served as supervising architect for Wetherell & Gage of Des Moines.

References

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  1. ^ "Personals" in American Architect (July 21, 1921): 10.
  2. ^ Mary Ellen Perley, A Genealogy of the Descendants of Moses and Hannah (Foster) Peabody (Salem: Mary Ellen Perley, 1904): 33.
  3. ^ "Widely-Known Architect Dies At Pueblo," Fort Collins Coloradan, July 13, 1934, 5.
  4. ^ "Dedicated" in Cheyenne Daily Leader, May 26, 1882, 4.
  5. ^ Thomas J. Noel, Buildings of Colorado (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1007): 315.
  6. ^ Asbury White House NRHP Registration Form (1984)
  7. ^ Thomas J. Noel, Buildings of Colorado (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1007): 318.
  8. ^ Ward Rice House NRHP Registration Form (1985)
  9. ^ Western Electrician 27, no. 14 (October 6, 1900): 224.
  10. ^ Thomas J. Noel, Buildings of Colorado (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1007): 538.
  11. ^ Western Contractor 25, no. 367 (December 3, 1913): 21–22.